WFVX-LD
WFVX-LD, virtual and UHF digital channel 22, is a low-power Fox-affiliated television station licensed to Bangor, Maine, United States, serving Central and Eastern Maine. Owned by Rockfleet Broadcasting, it is a sister station to ABC affiliate WVII-TV (channel 7). The two stations share studios on Target Industrial Circle in West Bangor; WFVX's transmitter is located on Black Cap Mountain along the Penobscot and Hancock county line. The station is also seen in high definition on the second digital subchannel of WVII-TV (WVII is likewise simulcast on WFVX's second digital subchannel). In addition to Fox programming, WFVX is a secondary affiliate of MyNetworkTV, and airs Jewelry Television overnight. As a low-power station, WFVX's main signal has very little penetration outside the immediate Bangor area. However, it is carried on cable and satellite television as far away as Skowhegan and Bar Harbor; additionally, its carriage on the WVII subchannel gives the station full-market over-the-air coverage. On cable, WFVX is available on Charter Spectrum channel 4. History A construction permit for a low-power station on channel 22 in Bangor was granted on January 12, 1995, and was assigned the call letters W22BU. Following the death of original owner Dale Buschow in 1998, the station was acquired by MS Communications on January 3, 2001; its license to cover was issued on March 1. MS Communications had plans to establish wireless cable networks, but never broadcast anything other than test patterns on its stations. MS sold W22BU to Rockfleet Broadcasting, owner of WVII-TV, in 2003. Rockfleet put the station on the air as a Fox affiliate on April 13, 2003; the following day, the call letters were changed to WFVX-LP. The WFVX call letters were transferred from what is now WFUP, the Vanderbilt, Michigan satellite of then-sister station and fellow Fox affiliate WFQX-TV in Cadillac, Michigan. Before WFVX went on the air, Fox programming was seen on cable via WPXT in Portland, then from Foxnet after WPXT switched to The WB in the fall of 2001. Fox Sports programming was also available in Bangor at various points via WABI-TV (channel 5), WBGR-LP (channel 33), and WCKD-LP (channel 30). WCKD was WVII's first venture into low-power broadcasting in Bangor; it signed a local marketing agreement with James McLeod, owner of channel 30 (then known as W30BF, the former Bangor transmitter for Maine Public Television Plus) and WBGR, in 2000, and relaunched it as a UPN affiliate in 2001. WCKD had tried to become a full Fox affiliate that October to coincide with WPXT's affiliation change, but was blocked from doing so by UPN; this did not stop the station from continuing its existing relationship with Fox Sports. After WFVX's sign on, Rockfleet moved all of WCKD's syndicated and local programming (including a 10 p.m. newscast from WVII and the morning talk show So Goes the Nation), but not the UPN affiliation, to channel 22. On December 6, 2006, WFVX added a secondary affiliation with Fox's new sister programming service MyNetworkTV. The service was not available in Bangor in its first three months on the air. Currently, programming from MyNetworkTV is seen in a delayed manner from 11:05 until 1:05 early the next morning. There is no local branding and/or logo indicating the secondary MyNetworkTV affiliation status aside from network promotions. As a low-power station, WFVX was exempt from the digital transition on June 12, 2009; however, on February 17, WVII added a new second digital subchannel to carry WFVX's programming. WFVX has a construction permit to perform a "flash-cut" from analog to digital on the channel 22. On January 23, 2013, the station's call letters was changed to WFVX-LD ("LD" stands for low-powered digital). Category:Fox Affiliates Category:MyNetworkTV Affiliates Category:Channel 22 Category:Rockfleet Broadcasting Category:Bangor Category:Maine Category:Television channels and stations established in 2003 Category:2003 Category:UHF Category:Fox New England Category:MyNetworkTV New England Category:2013 Category:ABC Affiliates Category:ABC New England